wantmangojuice

redditor (TM). reads books (mostly danmei right now) and posts about them. draws sometimes. » #my reading journal

[lunnitavaldez]

I made stickers for my rotten soul and sharing them with you because I think I'm brilliantly funny 🤓 (my favorite is the one with the drunk fish)

[wantmangojuice]

This Omega is Fierce and Wild - on-going - 93 out of 122 chapters + 6 extras

Premise: MC Qiu Yu from an apocalypse world dies and transmigrates into a futuristic A/B/O-universe as an omega, and in the process winds up becoming an e-sports player. But in this world, e-sports are played as full-dive games, which means that players' physical strength matters, and omegas are therefore at a natural disadvantage. Can Qiu Yu, with his fighting skills, become the world's first omega e-sports star? (And what does that mean for the other omegas who are watching him as he breaks barriers?)

My (lackluster) premise writeup above does not begin to express how much I enjoyed this story. (And the translation isn't even done yet! I can't wait for more! But the last chapter of the translation is at a good place right now so anyone who wants to start reading won't be stuck at a cliffhanger.)

Things I loved: (a) Of all the transmigrated-into-an-A/B/O-setting story I've read, this is the one that really explores how much adjustment a non-A/B/O person would have to go through. The book makes it clear that just because Qiu Yu's in the body of an omega doesn't mean he feels like he's an omega. (b) ML Mu Feibai might just be the greenest-flag ML I've seen in all the danmei I've read, and I've read quite many. He makes it very clear that he loves Qiu Yu because he's Qiu Yu, and that if Qiu Yu were a beta or an alpha instead then his feelings would be the same. When he learns that Qiu Yu wants to have his glands surgically taken out, he's nothing but supportive, and his only concerns are on any medical issues that might occur during the operation. (c) This line of dialogue: "If not for Alphas losing control, Omegas wouldn't even be able to start anything. So aren't Alphas the true source of danger? Why must Omegas be forced to memorise their cycles? Why must Omegas be marked before they're allowed to leave the house? Why can't it be mandatory for all Alphas to be injected with suppressants?" This is a fictional story about a fictional issue, but I felt that in my bones. (d) Normally I'm not too much of a fan of overpowered MCs, but Qiu Yu has me cheering for every sweep he gets. He deserves all the wins. (e) And with all of that, the book also features a sweet romance and endearing supporting characters.

...I don't think there was anything I disliked about this novel, actually. Maybe a bit more development of Qiu Yu's feelings towards Mu Feibai would have been nice to see? But it's fine.

I really, really like it when A/B/O-setting novels explore gender & societal inequality, and this is one of them. (My other favorite A/B/O-setting novel that does the same is Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O?, btw.) Right now, Qiu Yu is realizing that his popularity as someone who competes in arenas that are normally barred from omegas is actually inspiring and making a difference in the lives of other omegas , and I wonder how that would affect his decisions moving forward. Ooooh, I can't wait to read more.

[wantmangojuice]

Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory - finished - two volumes

Premise: Filthy-rich, previously-a-film-director now-an-aspiring-novelist MC Zhang Yuwen wants to get better at writing characters, and decides to carry this out by renting out rooms in the titular house to other queer men. They more-or-less get along and somehow manage to become something like found family while lying to everybody and to themselves. Or -- Everyone Lies: The Novel. (like, affectionately)

While I wouldn't necessarily call this a favorite, I liked it more than I thought I would?? There's comedy, there's character growth, there's quite a lot of touching moments.

It's been mentioned in other reviews that there's a tonal change between vol1 and vol2. I agree with this, and also in addition, it's like vol2 is a response to vol1? We circle back to many of the things mentioned in vol1.

In typical FTYX fashion, all the major side characters are fleshed out and explored pretty well. I do appreciate a cast where everyone is flawed and everyone is likeable despite their flaws -- if anything, I wanted the MC to be *more* flawed, and for those flaws to be called out by the narrative more hahaha .

Who'd have thought that this novel's Best Boy awardee would be Chang Jinxing lol. :D

Also, pretty much called Huo Sichen's secret more or less, lol .

Why'd that ending have to be so bittersweet??! 🥹

[wantmangojuice]

New Times, New Hell - finished - 134 chapters + 10 extras

Premise: Graduating programmer MC is hired by the Underworld (like literally the underworld) in order to develop and implement software that will streamline processes related to the afterlife! Think, mobile app and instant messaging to view and summon ghosts, automating the tabulation of a person's good and evil deeds to generate the karma score for determining their next reincarnation, providing communication services to unite newly-departed souls with their other dead relatives, etc. etc. Truly, in these modern times, even hell can't be left behind!

That premise! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 In many ways, its story beats are similar to many "MC & ML get power upgrades system enhancements, in this case to overcome obstacles and emerge victorious" stories, but IMO the mix of technology with ghosts gives it just enough of that unique edge.

I laughed so hard (but also agreed!) with the considerations mentioned that were factored in when developing hell's software/applications! Like that thing about automatically reducing reincarnations to birds during the times when there's avian flu, and switching to reincarnating to other animals instead (or something like that). So much sense, I don't know why I'm laughing.

Peppa is the cutest. All hail Peppa.

Strong wifi signal saves the world (or something).

Things I liked about this: (1) The story lines are "arc-based" (so we get a new plot every handful of chapters), but the characters from the previous arc tend to pop up again in the succeeding story lines, so we get to see them again! (Having to leave behind characters that I already got attached to when going to a new arc is one of my dislikes about other arc-based stories, so I'm glad this is less of an issue in this book.) Even that freaking antique tea cup managed to boomerang back into the story ahahahahaha that was so good. (2) The humor is right up my alley. (3) Zhao Ruola immediately seeing how well her departed mom was doing in the afterlife. A touching moment, with just that bit of the book's characteristic humor. 🥲 (4) The final battle (-ish) involving nearly every named character pitching in to help! I loved that! (5) Just, the entire idea of it all.

What I think it could have done just a bit better: While MC and ML are very cute together, I wish we got to see more development of the MC's feelings towards the ML?? Like, the moment when he realized how he instinctively trusted ML to keep him safe happened just a handful of chapters before they officially got together, and that was sweet, but I wish we had a lot more of those moments building up throughout the arcs, until they got together. Oh well. They're still cute, though.

Overall, I enjoyed this quite a lot.

[wantmangojuice]

Pixiu's Restaurant: No Way Out - finished the main story - 106 chapters & 3 extras

Premise: Stingy penny-pinching restaurant-owner MC Pi Xiu is the mythological thousands-years-old Pixiu who got scammed by Taotie and who, one day, picked up an urn containing the ghost and shattered bones of ML Wen Xi. 600-year-old, literally-cold-because-he's-a-ghost Wen Xi has no memories of his death, but figures it was probably brutal considering the state of his remains -- but right now he's more preoccupied with being used as an air-conditioner by perpetually-running-hot Pi Xiu. What's the mystery behind Wen Xi's death? How many mythological beings can we fit into a restaurant? How much platonic cuddling can Wen Xi & Pi Xiu do before they realize that it's not platonic anymore? Can we make a found family out of this bizarre mess? And how many jokes about Pi Xiu's (lack of) anus can we fit into a single book?

This was so much fun!

This has a manhua adaptation (which is how I found out about this book in the first place) and the art is so pretty 🤩

I learned so much about mythology because of this book hahaha. It's perfectly comprehensible even for people with zero knowledge (thanks to the translator's comprehensive notes) but I can imagine that readers familiar with the subject would have sooo much fun with all the easter eggs.

There were many laugh-out-loud moments (goddd the snakes being insulted when Wen Xi tried to use a flute on them) but also moments that left me teary-eyed. The side couples! Pi Xiu & Wen Xi are adorable, but Taotie & Qianniang had my heart 🥲

Looking forward to the extras because I need hope for reunions for our two het side-couples, please 😭

[sylvanfreckles]

I love this book so much 🤣

[wantmangojuice]

(Bookmark-style fanart for Peerless/Wushuang!)

(1) What do you do when you love someone and he loves you back, but he's like this.

(2) Pro: You receive a courtship gift from the man you love. Con: That man is Feng Xiao.

(3) Yes, Ququ, this is the guy you're in love with. Deal with it.

[wantmangojuice]

The true "horror" moment of Peerless/Wushuang was when three Feng Xiaos showed up and people couldn't figure out how that could happen. Just imagine a world where there are three Feng Xiaos running around. God.

[benevolenterrancy]

the assassination attempt was an experience for everyone involved

[a-silly-poll-side-blog-yay]

you just swapped bodies with the main character of the last book you read, are you doomed?

yes

no

*panic screech*

results

Voting ended onMay 9, 2025

[wantmangojuice]

Qiang Jin Jiu - finished the main story - 282 chapters

Premise: Son-of-a-traitor Shen Zechuan and warrior-wofly-guy son-of-a-hero effectively-a-political-hostage Xiao Chiye meet each other and speedrun the whole enemies-to-lovers thing in a country which is beset by both internal and external conflicts. Grain supplies are very important.

This is probably one of the most highly-rated danmei novels around and I get it. I get the hype.

I started reading this novel for the romance (and indeed CeZhou is cute), but ended up finishing it for everything else. The plot! The scheming! All the other characters!

Side characters are plentiful and great. I feared that I'd get very confused by the sheer number of supporting characters (and at first I was), but it wasn't that bad?? It can be brute-forced (so to speak), and also, they're distinctive enough that I didn't need a character sheet all that much by the 2nd volume or so.

Speaking of side characters -- I did not expect that guy Fei Sheng of all people to end up being my fave wahahahaha. I loved his character growth (arguably, he as a side char gets more character growth than many MCs in other novels lol), and I enjoyed seeing everything that the story threw at him and the way his character developed accordingly. He's so funny. Even his greatest moments of triumph and heroism are, for lack of a better word, just so him lmaoo. Will he ever get a normal win?? (Ans: No.) On a more serious note, his relationship with Yin Chang was so heartwarming.

Li Jianting deserved better. Li Jianting deserved the world.

Honestly, I think that if things had just been a little bit different, Xue Xiuzhuo and Li Jianting would have succeeded in setting the country to rights, eventually.

To be honest, considering that Hua Xiangyi x Qi Zhuyin get their own cover, I would have expected their romance to be more front-and-center than it actually was. Even Hasen x Duo'erlan was more present in the story.

Speaking of, that bit with Duo'erlan being the true hero ahhhhh fantastic.

Overall, this gets my two thumbs up.

[wantmangojuice]

The Imperial Uncle - finished - 12 chapters and 4 extras

Premise: Looking-for-love-in-all-the-wrong-places MC is the titular uncle of the emperor, and may or may not be involved in certain schemes in court. The emperor may or may not be out to get him. The men he love may or may not love him back. How many plot twists can we make using the concept of "unreliable narration"?

Everybody Lies and Trust No One: The Novel (just kidding! But sometimes it certainly did feel that way lol.)

In some ways, this feels less like a danmei novel per se and more like a character study.

I've seen people say that it's not a good end/it's a bad end... And I disagree?? Pretty much from the beginning all Prince Huai really wanted was someone and somewhere to call home, and in the end he refers to Ransi as his home. If anything i feel worse for Liu Tongyi hahahaha it's not surprising at all that he's so insecure after all of that. I hope that the extra chapter, with Prince Huai conveying his love as the "truth" he reveals when drunk, allays that.

Speaking of that crazy love triangle, I thought it was really well done, the way the two MLs basically switched places in the MC's life and in the MC's perception. I can write another few hundred words on them because the trajectory was so interesting and dug into my head.

LMAO I am, like, so good at picking DFGG's endgame love interests. First Peach Blossom Debt, now this.

I don't know if I would recommend it per se, but I appreciate this book and the way it was written. Based on the two DFGG books I've read (this and Peach Blossom Debt), it seems that the author sure can establish a theme/concept and stick with it to the end in a way that satisfies my brain.

[benevolenterrancy]

a long but worthwhile journey

[benevolenterrancy]

I can't tell you how funny I find the cover of the first book. Like at this point Li Yu is super explicitly Not A Koi. He is the most generic, grey, little fish imaginable. Everyone is judging Prince Jing so hard for doting on this dull little soup carp -- to the point that even the cover is like, nah, replace that boring thing with a koi!!! Poor Li Yu can't win for losing...

[wantmangojuice]

Where is Our Agreement to be Each Other’s Arch-Rivals? - finished - 120 chapters & 2 extras

Premise: Actor!MC transmigrates into the wuxia drama that he'd been starring in--or more specifically, into the original book which the drama was based on--as the villain character opposite protagonist ML, and decides that once he dies in the storyline he'll probably go back to the real world, so he's looking forward to that. Obviously MC's actions as the villain differ so much that the ML-protagonist falls for him, etc. etc.-- meanwhile it turns out that the older generations have a crazier backstory and love tribulations than they do lol.

Initially I thought this was going to be a typical run-off-the-mill transmigration story, and in many ways it sticks to the genre, but certain aspects of it still made the novel fairly memorable to me:

The backstory of the older gen. It's not overly-extensive, but I wasn't expecting any of it at all lol. Glad they got their own happy ending-ish after all.

MC and ML are very very good at fighting, but they're not the best--they're basically kids, after all, and the older and more experienced generation are stronger than they are. I just liked that, it seemed more reasonable. Every major fight scene that MC and ML won was either a huge struggle, or someone gave an assist, or something unexpected happened. MC and ML are still very much an in-sync battle couple, though.

The second-to-the-last major battle being set up and won by ~acting~, lmao.

When the OG!female!love interest was introduced as headstrong and kind of bratty, I was bracing for her to be bashed by the narrative and stuffed somewhere. Glad that wasn't the case, and she was also pretty cool! And supportive!

I am always a sucker for "shou gets hurt protecting gong and gong gets distraught over it" moments, and in that aspect this book fed me in spades. Spades, I tell you. Over-all, I quite enjoyed it!

[cheerkyuuu]

is the character u hate the most the one u want to jork the most cuz i was missing feng xiao the whole time i was with the zuoyue bureau and when he appeared again i was like YAAAYYYY MY STUPID FUCKING BITCH I MISSED YOU ^_^

[cheerkyuuu]

no cuz when i was reading some reviews i kept seeing everyone hating feng xiao and i was like "dang what did this asshole do" and then i hated feng xiao. but now. i want feng xiao. i hate him so much that i now want him. what is going on.

[princessdave]

I’d like to thank Li Yu for being the only danmei character with a unique color scheme. Orange and blue? Iconic. And you have light brown hair?? What an identifiable king